Apparatus for positioning the containers of an extrusion press

ABSTRACT

The disclosure of this invention pertains to a piston cylinder arrangement for moving and maintaining container assemblies in their various operating positions during the operation of an extrusion press. A single relatively low force exerting piston cylinder assembly is connected to the hub of the container assemblies for moving the containers towards and away from the die assembly, during the period of time that the only resistance to the movement of the containers is that of the sliding assembly friction of the hub and container assemblies. This piston cylinder assembly is connected to a tie-rod crosshead assembly arranged on the side of the platen of the press opposite the die assembly. Operations involving the containers which cannot be carried out without considerable effort, such as sealing the containers to the die assembly and stripping the butt and dummy block are performed by two high force exerting piston cylinder assemblies connected directly to one of the containers itself.

United States Patent [191 Kent et al.

[4 1 Feb. 25, 1975 APPARATUS FOR POSITIONING THE CONTAINERS OF AN EXTRUSION PRESS [73] Assignee: Wean United, Inc., Pittsburgh, Pa.

[22 Filed: May 14, 1973 [21] Appl. No.: 361,379

Primary ExaminerC. W. Lanham Assistant ExaminerRobert M. Rogers Attorney, Agent, or FirmHenry C. Westin; Daniel Patch [57] ABSTRACT The disclosure of this invention pertains to a piston cylinder arrangement for moving and maintaining container assemblies in their various operating positions during the operation of an extrusion press. A single relatively low force exerting piston cylinder assembly is connected to the hub of the container assemblies for moving the containers towards and away from the die assembly, during the period of time that the only resistance to the movement of the containers is that of the sliding assembly friction of the hub and container assemblies. This piston cylinder assembly is connected to a tie-rod crosshead assembly arranged on the side of the platen of the press opposite the die assembly. Operations involving the containers which cannot be carried out without considerable effort, such as sealing the containers to the die assembly and stripping the butt and dummy block are performed by two high force exerting piston cylinder assemblies connected directly to one of the containers itself.

4 Claims, 3 Drawing Figures PATENTED FEB2 5 i975 SHEET 3 OF 3 I APPARATUS FOR POSITIONING THE CONTAINERS OF AN EXTRUSION PRESS In the past, in some presses such as extrusion presses, having multiple containers, the positioning, moving and maintaining of the containers when in the extrusion station in their several operating positions were performed by two separate sets of piston cylinder assemblies, one set arranged for pushing the containers towards the die assembly and the other set for pushing the containers in the opposite direction. In this design both of the rods of each set of piston cylinder assemblies were arranged to butt alternately against the end faces of the containers or their housings, which were retracted prior to the containers being rotated to the next station after the extrusion operation was completed to allow free movement of the containers.

Not only did this past container moving arrangement necessitate providing two separate sets of high pressure piston cylinder assemblies, but it also involved separate operating steps and means for carrying them out in retracting the rods of the piston cylinder assemblies to allow the containers to be rotated. Both of these characteristics of prior arrangements added substantially to the cost of manufacturing and operating the press.

It is therefore the object of the present invention to provide in an extrusion, forging or shaping press an improved container positioning, moving and maintaining apparatus which will be simple and economical in construction and operation.

More particularly, the present invention provides a first piston cylinder means designed to furnish only the force necessary to move a container during its nonworking phase or phases of operation, and a second piston cylinder means designed to furnish the required force to move and maintain the container during the working phase or phases of its operation.

Still more particularly, the present invention provide a first pair of piston cylinder assemblies designed to furnish only the force necessary to overcome the sliding friction inherent in moving the container relative to the die assembly and a pair of second piston cylinder assemblies designed to furnish the required force necessary to effect the sealing of the container of the die assembly of the press, withdrawing the stub, and stripping the butt portion of the extruded member out of the liner of the container.

It is another object of the present invention to provide a pair of first piston cylinder assemblies on the side of the platen of the press opposite the die assembly thereof and provide a crosshead tie-rod assembly for connecting the first piston cylinder assemblies to a hub that rotatably supports several containers, and to arrange a pair of second piston cylinder assemblies on the same side of the platen, in which their rod ends are received in slots provided in each container when the containers are rotated to the extrusion station from a piston cylinder assemblies to limit their strokes when the associated auxiliary piston cylinder assemblies are operated to thereby position the rotating containers in proper position to receive the rods of said second piston cylinder assemblies, and to provide other auxiliary piston cylinder assemblies for each of the second piston cylinder assemblies constructed and arranged when extended to limit the stroke of the second piston cylinder assemblies and thereby position the rods of the second piston cylinder assemblies to be received in the containers when they are rotated into the extrusion station.

These objects, as well as other novel features and advantages of the present invention, will be better understood when the following description of one embodiment is read along with the accompanying drawings of which:

FIG. 1 is an elevational view of the platen end of an extrusion press incorporating the container moving apparatus of the present invention,

FIG. 2 is a vertical sectional view taken on lines 22 of FIG. 1, and

FIG. 3 is an enlarged sectional view of the sealing and stripping piston cylinder assemblies illustrated in FIG. I

In referring first to FIG. 1 there is illustrated the platen end of an horizontal extrusion press I0, the platen being shown at 12, the die assembly at 14, and the container assembly at 16. Also shown is a portion of three of the columns 18 of the press. As best shown in FIG. 2, the container assembly 16 is mounted to rotate concentric about the axis of one of the columns 18, the assembly consisting of a central hub 20 to which at equal circumference distances are secured three billet containers 22, the openings for the billets being designated at 24. In FIG. 2 the container to the right is shown in the extrusion station of the press, as signified by legend, the lower one being in the cleaning station, and the uppermost one in the loading station. The hub 20 is moved around the column 18 so that the container can be rotated from station to station and also so that the container in the extrusion station can be moved axially into its various operative positions, such as the advancing, sealing, withdrawing, and stripping and further withdrawing positions. It is the arrangement of the means and the means themselves for accomplishing these movements of the containers incident to these operations to which the present invention is particularly addressed. It provides for simplifying the designs and insuring economy in performing the container movements by providing two separate piston cylinder assemblies, one a single double action small hydraulic cylinder assembly and the other consisting of two cooperative double acting large hydraulic cylinder assemblies.

Referring first to the small piston cylinder assembly, as shown in FIG. 1 this cylinder assembly 26 is provided to furnish the motion of the containers which does not require any force other than to overcome the sliding friction inherent in moving the container assembly 16, which as noted, includes the hub 20. The cylinder is secured to the back of the platen 12 having its rod 28 projecting to the right where it is connected to a vertical arranged crosshead 30, the crosshead in turn being secured to two diametrically opposite arranged tie rods 32 which extend into and through the platen 12 where their ends are secured to a second crosshead 34, this head and the rod ends also being illustrated in FIG. 2.

As generally shown in FIG. 1,.the crosshead 34 is rigidly connected to the hub of the container assembly 16. In this way on operation of the piston cylinder assembly 26 the container assembly is moved axially over the column 18 and the container in the extrusion station is moved towards and away from the die assembly 14, where, as noted before, the only force required is to overcome the friction of the relevant parts. The weight of the crosshead 30 is supported by an horizontally extending rail 36 engaged by a wheel 38.

Turning now to the larger double acting hydraulic piston cylinder assemblies, they also are shown in FIG. 1 at 40, in which as noted in FIG. 2, they are arranged symmetrically or concentrically about the press centerline or the forces generated in the sealing and stripping operations, thereby avoiding any eccentric application of forces which could cause high stresses on the affected elements of the press and wear of sliding surfaces. The cylinder assemblies 40 are secured to the back of the platen 12 having their rod ends 42 extending into and through the platen and beyond the die assembly 14 where they terminate adjacent to the container 22 when in the extrusion station. As shown in FIGS. 1 and 3, the ends of the rods 42 of the piston cylinder assemblies 40 are provided with enlarged collars 44 that are received by T-shaped slots 46 formed in each container 22.

Each container is actually provided with two brackets 48 arranged symmetrically about its outer periphery, the T-slots being formed on a radius drawn from the center of the column 18 around which the container assembly 16 rotates. The relationship of the slots 46 and the collars 44 is such that with the collars properly positioned they are automatically received in the T-slots by the container being rotated from the loading station to the extrusion station. As noted before, the large piston cylinder assemblies 40 are employed to supply the various working pressures and movements of the containers such as sealing the container to the die assembly, moving the container away from the die assembly after extrusion while withdrawing the stub of the cut-off extruded rod from the die and stripping the butt out of the liner of the container.

The proper positioning of the T-slots 46 of the container assembly 16 and the collars 44 of the piston cylinder assemblies 40 is accomplished by employing auxiliary piston assemblies. First, as to the T-slots 46, as shown in FIG. I, mounted on the platen 12 to either side of the piston cylinder assembly 26 are two small auxiliary hydraulic piston cylinder assemblies 50, the outer ends of which have adjustable heads 52 and which when extended on operation of the piston cylinder assemblies 50 contact stops 54 secured to the inside of the crosshead 30. The extended positions of the piston cylinder assemblies will place the container assembly 16 into the rotating position including the container 22 in the extrusion station and, more particularly, its T-slot 46 in a selected predetermined position relative to the collars 44 of the piston cylinder assemblies 40.

The auxiliary piston cylinder assemblies for the collar 44 are best shown in FIG. 3. To the rear of each of the piston cylinder assemblies 40 an auxiliary hydraulic piston cylinder assembly 56 is secured having its rod 58 arranged to engage and serve as a stop for the piston 60 of a piston cylinder assembly 40. FIG. 3 illustrates one of the piston cylinder assemblies 56 in its extended po- Ill sition against the piston 60, thereby the collar 44 is maintained in the center of the T-slot 46.

In operation, the piston cylinder assembly 26 is operated to move the container assembly 16 during the socalled non-working movements and non-pressure periods of the press operation, such as the container approach and final withdrawal phases. The piston cylinder assemblies 40 are employed to furnish the working movements and pressure phases, such as, during the sealing and stripping operation and movement phases of the press. When the containers are to be rotated after the completion of the extrusion operation, the auxiliary piston cylinder assemblies 50 and 56 are operated to properly position the collars 44 of the piston cylinder assembly 40, with respect to the T-shaped slots 46 of the container 22 that is to be rotated away from the press station and the next container 22 that is to be brought into the press station.

In accordance with the provisions of the patent statutes, we have explained the principles and operation of our invention and have illustrated and described what we consider to represent the best embodiment thereof.

We claim:

1. In a press having a number of containers adapted to be selectively brought to and from a pressing station of the press and wherein a container in said station has a number of working and non-working phases,

a first hydraulic piston cylinder means connected to said containers capable of furnishing only the force necessary to move the containers when a container in said station is in a non-working phase or phases of operation,

a second hydraulic piston cylinder means connectable to said container in said station capable of furnishing the required force to move and maintain the container in said station during its working phase or phases of operation and capable of furnishing a substantially greater pressure than first said piston cylinder means,

wherein said containers are provided with registry means which are employed when the containers are in said station,

said second piston cylinder assembly means having means for registry with the container registry means when a container is in said station,

a first means for positioning said registry means of said container in a predetermined position,

a second means for positioning said registry means of said second piston cylinder assembly means in a predetermined position, and

said predetermined positions being such that a proper registry is made between said registry means of said container and of said second piston cylinder assembly means when a container is brought to said station.

2. In a press according to claim I, wherein said registry means of said containers include a T-shaped slot,

and

said registry means of said second piston cylinder assembly means including a collar formed on the ends of its piston rod.

3. In a press according to claim 1, wherein said first positioning means includes a piston cylinder assembly constructed and arranged to control the extent of movement of the working stroke of the said first piston cylinder assembly means and wherein said second positioning means includes a piston cylinder assembly consaid pressing station, means for mounting said hub concentric with one of said columns, means for mounting said first piston cylinder assembly means on or symmetrically about said one column, and means for mounting second piston cylinder assembly means on or symmetrically about said pressing axis 

1. In a press having a number of containers adapted to be selectively brought to and from a pressing station of the press and wherein a container in said station has a number of working and non-working phases, a first hydraulic piston cylinder means connected to said containers capable of furnishing only the force necessary to move the containers when a container in said station is in a non-working phase or phases of operation, a second hydraulic piston cylinder means connectable to said container in said station capable of furnishing the required force to move and maintain the container in said station during its working phase or phases of operation and capable of furnishing a substantially greater pressure than first said piston cylinder means, wherein said containers are provided with registry means which are employed when the containers are in said station, said second piston cylinder assembly means having means for registry with the container registry means when a container is in said station, a first means for positioning said registry means of said container in a predetermined position, a second means for positioning said registry means of said second piston cylinder assembly means in a predetermined position, and said predetermined positions being such that a proper registry is made between said registry means of said container and of said second piston cylinder assembly means when a container is brought to said station.
 2. In a press according to claim 1, wherein said registry means of said containers include a T-shaped slot, and said registry means of said second piston cylinder assembly means including a collar formed on the ends of its piston rod.
 3. In a press according to claim 1, wherein said first positioning means includes a piston cylinder assembly constructed and arranged to control the extent of movement of the working stroke of the said first piston cylinder assembly means and wherein said second positioning means includes a piston cylinder assembly constructed and arranged to control the extent of movement of the working stroke of said second piston cylinder assembly means.
 4. In a press according to claim 1 in which said press includes a number of tension columns connectable to a platen of the press, said columns being arranged equal distance from the center pressing axis of the press, containers having a central supporting hub adapted on rotation to selectively position a container in said pressing station, means for mounting said hub concentric with one of said columns, means for mounting said first piston cylinder assembly means on or symmetrically about said one column, and means for mounting second piston cylinder assembly means on or symmetrically about said pressing axis. 